washington, and president obama is increasing the pressure on the country's powerful gun lobby's and calling for stricter regulations on assault weapons. he has also challenged his fellow gun control advocates to take a clear stand on the issue. >> america had a moment of silence for the victims of the newtown massacre. exactly one week ago, a young man armed with a semiautomatic rifle gunned down 20 people in connecticut. meanwhile, the national rifle association has taken a hard- nce on the issue, calling for armed security guards in yev american school to protect students. >> the gun owner's organizatitin has proposed the establishment of a national school shield program, saying a bad guy with a gun can only be stopped by a good guy with a gun. the head of the inner raymond it clear that the nra opposes new gun laws. pro-gun control activists twice disrupted the press conference in washington. russian president vladimir putin has made sharp comments about a european energy law, saying it causes confusion and undermined trust. russia is the biggest exporter of energy to europe. >>

- mails and tweets. "washington journal" is next. host: good morning, it's wednesday, december 19, 2012. the white house has thrown its support behind several gun- control measures on tuesday in the wake of the shooting rampage in newtown, connecticut. a state department inquiry into the september 11 terror attack in benghazi, libya, criticized the agency harshly for inadequate security that -- but specificrecommend signi individuals. and we begin today in on the details of john boehner's plan to avoid the fiscal cliff. we want to hear from you. how optimistic are you that a compromise can still be reached before the end of the year? give us a call -- and you can get up with us on all your social media web sites on facebook and twitter, or e- mail us. a very good morning to you. i want to take you to the lead story in today's washington post. that was today's washington post. here's the headlines from "politico" today. i want to take you to speaker john boehner's comments on the state of the current negotiations and his plan b. [video clip] >> what the white house offered yesterda